Many of you know that Rick and I built our home on  my great-grandmother's old homeplace five years ago. I never really knew Granny Shull. She died when I was six and was in a nursing home the whole time I was alive. I remember scraps of occational visits, but not too much. Alas, my young mind was not developed enough to retain memories of her and that is a shame.

Mom has told me some intersting things about her, and one thing that amused me was that she was very superstitious. Oh, some of the stories I heard. Like how she had Granddaddy get rid of all her hens because one was crowing and a crowing hen is bad luck, so she got rid of them all just to be sure. Or the time she made him dig up a cedar tree because of the old wives tale that if you plant a cedar tree you'll die once it's big enough to cover your grave.

They say people were more superstitious in that day. Perhaps so. I can tell you  one thing - it's not a trait I inherited. In fact, I'm not superstitious at all. I'm not saying that I don't believe in spirits and the like. I'm just saying that they don't bother me much and frankly, I don't put much stock in it. I mean, isn't it supposed to be supernatural and spooky because it doesn't happen much? If ghosts knocked crap off the counters all the time, we wouldn't worry about it.

There's also the fact that I've managed to debunk a number of those superstitions and old wives tales since we moved out here. For example, if you chop a snake in half, it doesn't writhe until nightfall. Quite the contrary, if your husband hacks at it with an ax, that sucker isn't moving at all. It's an ugly, bloody mess. What's spooky is that something came and carried it off overnight. Ew. Methinks our wildlife does not have a refined palate.

Likewise, owls hoot without regard to anything. They don't get the paper or read the obituaries and they have absolutely no way of knowing if somebody you know is about to die. They hoot because they're there and that's what they do. And they won't stop if you turn your pillow over, either. They don't know you did it and frankly, they don't care. A train whistle two miles away, though, will shut those suckers up faster than anything. And they also can't see well. I learned this in a college psychology class, but my brother confirmed it when he saw an owl fly head first into an oak tree in his back yard. The owl was quite startled, and had absolutely no messages from "the other side." Stephen wasn't sure if the owl even knew where it was at for a while.

Ladybugs in your house don't bode much for luck, but it means that you need to close the door or patch the hole. And they are helpful in the rose garden, as they eat the buggers that do kill plants.

Cats do not have nine lives, or at least getting hit by a truck pretty much takes all of them at once.

Crows cawing in your yard and raising hell don't mean death is coming. It means there's a raptor is nearby. I don't know why, but if crows see a raptor, they surround it and scream at it. I guess they figure raising hell will annoy them enough to go away.

That sound outside at night is not the boogeyman. It's likely raccoons. Or perhaps opossums. And opossums really do play dead. Just don't mess with them. They can get visious and it's just not worth it. They'll revive and be on their way shortly.

And in closing, we decided that if you plant a cedar tree then you probably will die when it gets tall enough for the shadow to cover your grave because by then you'll be old. So there may be a reason for that one.

Happy Halloween everybody! Have fun and stay safe out there. Don't forget to check out my FREE Halloween themed long story, Resonance, at  http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/88653 or at http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/resonance-sherri-fulmer-moorer/1106547585?ean=2940011520709 and enjoy this great video to celebrate the day.

Bye!

As the bewitching season draws upon us with the arrival of Halloween next week, I have to ask: have you ever noticed there are some things that freak people out for no good reason? It always catches you by surprise because it’s stuff you think nothing of, yet people act like you’ve unleashed a doomsday weapon on them. For example, I’ve had people freak out on me over:

1.Coughing or sneezing. In the south it’s common for people to have sinus and allergy problems (especially in the spring or fall), but do it more than once and people are asking “OH MY GOD ARE YOU SICK?” and threatening quarantines, Lysol attacks, or snapping “can’t you DO something about that?”  or “don’t you want to go home?” Ok, and who’s going to do the work while I take a sabbatical in the spring and fall while my bad  sinuses are acting up? Yea, that’s what I thought. 

Bottom line: Anybody that’s battled sinus and allergy problems their entire life know the difference between overactive antibodies, viruses and infections. Do your part by washing your hands and taking care of yourself and we’ll do our part to be responsible enough to take care not to spread germs around.

 2.Food allergies. The allergy is merely inconvenient because you have to watch what you eat, but what really makes it difficult is the hysterical reaction you get from others when you disclose it. I’m allergic to pecans, and every year about this time I have to deal with it. One time, a woman actually stopped an entire holiday party with a screaming fit demanding that every item on the buffet had to be checked because “OMG SHE COULD DIE!” after my husband asked if any of the desserts had pecans in them. That was so embarrassing that I decided it might be more helpful for me to carry a tranquilizer dart than an EpiPen to social functions in the future.  

Bottom line: My food allergy is my responsibility to deal with and I deal with it. I’m not trying to get attention or asking people to feel sorry for me when I disclose it – I’m trying to take responsibility for my allergy and prevent problems. I'm the only one that needs to adjust to this problem - not you.

3.Having a CWP (Concealed Weapons Permit). It’s funny, because people having firearms in the south is pretty common. In fact, it’s safer to assume people are armed around these parts. But let me tell you, people that have problems with guns are not shy about letting you know all about it, and why they have the problem. We learned this one day last summer when Rick was asked for ID to joined a preferred member club at a store (that shall remain nameless) and accidentally pulled out his CWP instead of his drivers license. Oh, the drama. The woman started out by screaming “I DON’T WANT THAT! GET IT AWAY FROM ME!” and proceeded into a fit of how she couldn’t believe anybody could be ok with having a gun near them, that she didn’t like that there
was probably one in the store right now and (*gasp*) pointing at me and screeching “MY GOD SHE PROBABLY HAS A GUN IN HER PURSE!!” Hyperventilation started at that point and a co-worker literally had to hold her and “talk her off a ledge” while I pondered whether I should talk to Hawkeye or Oliver Queen/Green Arrow about how to get and deliver a tranqualizer dart in these recurring freakouts I keep witnessing. Thank goodness the store wasn’t crowded.  I wish I were telling a story, but folks, I can’t make this crap up. This really happened. 

Bottom Line: People with a CWP have gone through extensive training to exercise their constitutional right to bear arms and are capable of handling firearms properly and responsibly. And furthermore, you should be glad to have them around. Because they aren’t the ones you need to worry about – it’s the bad guys that got them
on the black market and are using them to commit crimes that you need to worry about. Because CWP holders are doing it legally and are registered. The bad guys - well, who knows?

And by the way, I’m not commenting on whether or not I have a gun in my purse.

4.Being married and not having children. And the longer you’ve been married, the further the jaws drop. People just can’t believe a couple can be married for more than 2 years (or be in their 30’s) and not reproduce. “Are you
kidding? No kids? I mean, where are you at in life?” I’ll tell you where we’re at. It’s at the corner of “all our business” and “none of yours.”

Bottom line: Nobody asked you to justify why you have kids and we aren’t required to justify why we don’t. 

Of course, there are a lot of other misconceptions that go with being a childless couple. Let me tell you, people think some crazy  things about you when you don’t have kids – but this is best dealt with in a separate blog entry.

5. Turbulence. I've only recently begun to fly and one thing I have noticed is that people don't seem to understand that air moves at high altitudes just as much - perhaps even  more - than it does at ground level. And sometimes, it doesn't do nice things either. The good news is that pilots are well trained and know how to handle it. The bad news is that when the Captain says "we're experiencing a little rough air," it seems the passengers around me hear "IT'S COME TO JESUS TIME! REPENT, BE SAVED, AND BUCKLE YOUR SEATBELTS FOR ALL THE GOOD IT WILL DO BECAUSE YOU WILL SURLY DIE." Well, they acted like that's what they heard, anyway. On the way back from San Francisco people were looking around for their life preservers and Dad and I were laughing saying "good grief, it's just AIR!"

Bottom line: Ok, I understand how it can be tough to remain logical when you're bouncing around in a pressurized tube at 30,000 feet like you're in a clothes dryer but please - you expect people to trust that you know how to do your job right? Well, trust the Captain and Co-Captain to do theirs. And besides, I've been in turbulence twice and I'm not dead. Not that I know of, anyway. So as long as you're not trying to fly through the Frankenstorm, don't worry about it.

I have to say, I don't get it. Why do these things freak people out? I don't know. Maybe I missed a memo somewhere, as the saying goes. Or maybe I'm just one of those freaks that doesn't know well enough when I should be spazzing out.

That's all today. I hope you've enjoyed this fun look at the zany things that make me go hmm. Happy Friday tomorrow and I hope you have a great weekend.

Bye!

You have to admit that there's something about October that's inspiring. The weather is cooling off and people are taking their last opportunities to get out before the cold weather sets in - and before the pandemonium of the holidays starts! It seems to me that October is that perfect time in the fall where all things are in harmony and life is ripe for adventure. Perhaps this is why I've been inspired to write not one, but two short works that are set in October.

The first was my novella, Quarantine. This was actually the first serious piece of fiction I wrote. It's about four women that work that find themselves quarantined in the administrative office of a hospital after a quarantine kills another employee and sickens the rest of the staff. The illness, a bacterial form of pneumonia, was actually spread through flu shots given two weeks prior - and they find out that it may be no accident that a tainted batch was give to their staff. While locked in the office, they discover that there's a shady history behind their nice  little office and discover that an infection might not be the least of their concerns. 

Quarantine is available through Smashwords at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/88323 and through Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/author/sherrimoorer and is only $0.99. If you're looking for a short mystery read that packs a quick punch, this is the story for you.

My other October read is a long story titled Resonance. This story is about eighteen year old college students that find odd things happening in the woods behind their home after one of them buys a mysterious painting. This is a Halloween story that's geared toward teens, but adults that enjoy horror during this bewitching season might also enjoy it. I know, the theme of ghost stories might be a bit cliched, but I still enjoy them from time to time and I believe readers do too (how else can you explain the endless succession of Paranormal Activity movies?).  Resonance is even shorter than Quarantine and best of all, I'm offering this one for free through Smashwords at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/88653 . It's my way of thanking readers for supporting my writing and the work of all indie writers. So go download this one and enjoy!

Yes, October is a great time of year, in reality and in fiction. I find it interesting that this season leading into dormancy for nature is focused so much on holding on to life. Interesting indeed, Just take a look at books, movies and TV shows set this time of year and I believe you'll agree.

That's all for today. The maintanance guy for the HVAC unit just left so alas, I must head in to work now. I hope you all have a great day and a good end to the week. Enjoy fall! We're getting into the best days of it.

Bye!